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Spring Survey 2012

Chronic Pain Management: Expert Answers to Your Aching Questions

PROGRAM DETAILS:

Chronic pain affects millions of people in the U.S. and is often linked with a variety of health issues that can devastate a person’s quality of life. The truth is, modern medicine has few answers for this major problem. As a result, people with chronic pain often turn to pain management experts or anesthesiologists hoping to find relief and answers to aching questions. Most patients come to the realization they need to find other ways to cope and recover their ideal quality of life. But what happens when you don’t have a choice in treatment options or your choices are very limited? Fortunately, we have experts to help us understand some of these issues.

Joining Andrew Schorr for this Patient Power program are two very knowledgeable chronic pain experts. Dr. Robert Gatchel serves as clinical research program director of the Eugene McDermott Center for Pain Management at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Chairman of the Department of Psychology College of Science at the University of Texas at Arlington. Our second guest is Dr. Michael Schatman, a clinical psychologist at Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue, Washington. Dr. Gatchel and Dr. Schatman share their expertise for a much-needed discussion about the status of multidisciplinary approaches and how options for patients are becoming more limited. Much of the discussion focuses on insurance companies that tend to neglect patients, the benefits of tailored multidisciplinary approaches and treatment options for chronic pain. Dr. Gatchel and Dr. Schatman also address concerns about the future, including soaring health costs and what patients can do to keep options open. The discussion is centered around the importance of interaction between clinicians and academicians. Learn what patients with chronic pain of benign origin can do in order to improve their likelihood of receiving high quality care.

Also addressed are some of the ethical issues in chronic pain management such as the current status of the opioid conflict in chronic pain management. Dr. Schatman helps us understand the difference between dependence and addiction and touches on one particular issue deemed as controversial among patients and pain management experts. He explains the dangers of patients becoming “physiologically and emotionally dependent” on opioids and how seeking treatment to withdraw from opioid use is often a good choice. The discussion sheds light on the progress of new medications such as buprenorphine, also referred to as Suboxone, an opioid agonist.

This may all seem overwhelming, but organizations and foundations around the world are offering hope to patients. With organizations like the American Pain Foundation, and the American Academy of Pain Management, patients have wide access to resources. Hear Dr. Gatchel and Dr. Schatman answer listener questions, provide resources and share what they are doing to help patients have access to a variety of treatments. This interview is sure to encourage patients suffering with chronic pain to explore pain management approaches that will best fit their needs.

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EXPERTS & GUESTS:
Robert Gatchel, Ph.D., ABPP
Clinical Research Program Director of the Eugene McDermott Center for Pain Management, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dr. Gatchel is the Chair of the Department of Psychology, College of Science at The University of Texas at Arlington. In addition to this post, he is the Clinical Research Program Director of the Eugene McDermott Center for Pain Management at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Professional Psychology and... more >

Michael Schatman, Ph.D
Clinical Psychologist, Overlake Hospital Medical Center
Dr. Schatman is a clinical psychologist who has spent the past 22 years working in chronic pain management. In 1990, he developed Rehab Options, Pennsylvania’s largest multidisciplinary pain management program, where he remained as the Director of Education and Training and as a consultant until 2005. He currently maintains a part-time practice in Bellevue, WA. Dr. Schatman is the author... more >

TRANSCRIPT:

  1. Introduction
  2. Treatment Options for Chronic Pain
  3. Impact of Insurance Coverage for Multidisciplinary Approaches
  4. Benefits of the Multidisciplinary Approach
  5. Finding Quality Healthcare for Evaluation and Treatment
  6. Withdrawing from Opioid Therapy
  7. Chronic Pain's Connection to Depression
  8. Researching Providers for the Best Care

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